Acid Rain is a piece reflecting on the depravity of global access to water, fearing a future with no clean water whatsoever. The piece was inspired by the exhibit “A Shared Body” at the Florida State University Museum of Modern Art. Walking through the various pieces instilled a deep sense of privilege and dread, as many people are living a reality of which myself and most of my fellow Americans can simply turn away from and ignore at any moment. Major water crises such as oil spills and water shortages have become little more than a headline to most, as they do not affect our daily lives in a meaningful way.

That’s the primary concern for this piece: how many more times can these things happen before that changes? What happens when there’s more of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch than the Pacific itself? When there are no more animals to save from oil spills? When the water becomes so polluted that it not only cannot sustain life, but begins to poison everything it touches?

This piece presents an apocalyptic scene in which a toxic rain falls on a fallow earth nearly devoid of all life. The piece takes a literal title, as the rain becomes something caustic and dangerous to be feared and avoided. Various sounds are presented, from the low drone-like melodies of the saxophone to the whispers, pleas, prayers, and mourning of those who remember a time before the rain became foul.